Changing The Monster Within
by CodeForConfession
Summary: Edward, once an arrogant prince, rudely turns away a woman. She placed a curse on him, turning him into a vampire. If he can learn to love, and earn her love in return, he will turn back into the man he desires to be. But who could love a monster?


**ONCE UPON A TWILIGHT CONTEST**

**Title:** _Changing the Monster Within_

**Author:**_ CullenBabe86_

**Rating:** _T for mild language and violence_

**POV:** _Edward_

**Word Count: **_9023_

**Summary:** _Edward was once a handsome prince, destined for a bright future. He was smart, charming, arrogant, and self-centered. A curse was placed upon him, turning him into a blood-thirsty vampire, by a woman he rudely turned away. If he can learn to love another, and earn her love in return, by the stroke of midnight on his twenty-fourth birthday, he will then change back into the handsome prince he desires to be, she told him. But who could ever love a monster?_

**A/N: **AU. For my story, Bella is not Edward's singer and the connection between them is immediate and intense. Loosely based off the Disney movie, Beauty and the Beast.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the characters. That glorious right belongs to Stephanie Meyer, creator of the Twilight world.

_**This story is being submitted as an entry for the Once Upon a Twilight Contest, hosted by wishimight and staceygirl aka jackbauer. For complete contest details, to read the rest of the contest submissions, or if you are interested in entering, please visit the contest community at:**_

_http://www(DOT)fanfiction(DOT)net/community/Once_Upon_a_Twilight/72145/_

_Entries accepted until 8/20/09. Voting begins 8/22/09._

**All copyright and trademarked items mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. The remaining content is all the original author's. No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without their express written authorization.**

_*_

I leaned against the darkened alley wall, gazing at my unsuspecting prey as he walked away from me across the empty Seattle street. He was probably in his mid-thirties. He wore a blue baseball cap that covered his dark brown locks, a light grey fleece pull over, dark washed jeans, and black chucks. Pretty ordinary from the back. I noticed no glint of a wedding band. He will probably not be missed as much.

His thoughts were mundane. The usual boring, common human thoughts. What he needed to pick up from the grocery store. His rent was due soon. He needed to feed his dog when he got home.

It was quite a shock when I woke up to this existence, hearing all of the background noise my weak human ears couldn't, but also every thought running through every person's mind within a one mile radius. It was overwhelming to process, even with my newly expanded mind.

The wind shifted, carrying his mouth-watering scent over to me, causing my mouth to fill with venom. I have been a vampire for the past two and a half years. I was once a prince. Destined for great things. Soon to be ruler of my country. My parents have long since thought me dead. There was even a funeral. I can still sometimes hear my mother's sobs, haunting me as I stalk the darkeness of Seattle.

I never suspected that denying a woman entry into my home, whom I later learned was a witch in disguise, would turn me into this.

_I was sitting at a bar near the Volterra castle, drowning out the monotony of my thoughts from the meeting that took place that afternoon._

_My father Carlisle, the King of Volterra, and I called a parliament meeting to try and extend the borders of our beloved city to accommodate the ever growing population of Volterra. The president of the Republic of Italy, Agostino De Luca, and my father had quite a long argument on the matter, as well as the divided people of the parliament. Needless to say, we were there for hours, leaving with no extra land for our people to live on._

_I shook my head, trying to rid myself of the anger I still felt brewing underneath the surface. We would just have to find another solution._

_I tossed back the shot of goldschlager, taking pleasure from the burn as the alcohol made its way down my throat._

_It was more than three hours later, and well into the night, that I decided to head home, now thoroughly intoxicated. _

_I walked home, losing my balance occasionally through the light sprinkle that was coming down from the sky. I needed to be more independent, get away from the castle. So I got a place of my own. A nice, small house on the edge of the city. A place where I can go and be Edward Cullen. Twenty-one year old man who is trying to find himself. Not Prince Edward._

_It was pouring by the time I stumbled through the door. I shrugged off my jacket, tossing it on the floor and slipped off my shoes. Trudging up the stairs, I hopped out of my now wet jeans and peeled off my t-shirt, dropping them on the way to my room. Slipping on a dry pair of boxers, I climbed into bed, wanting to just forget the day._

_A loud pounding sound awoke me from my sleep. My head shot up, causing me to immediately clutch my forehead from the pain of the head rush. I glanced over at the clock, reading 3:46 am. Who the hell could it be at this time? _

_Rolling out of bed, I grabbed a T-shirt off the floor and threw it on before heading down the stairs, grasping the handrail tightly for support._

_Irritated at being awoken, I yanked the door open, glaring at whoever was on the other side of it._

_It turned out to be a hunched over beggar, a cloak covered her small frame and a hood hid her face. What the…_

"_Please sir, could you offer an old woman a place to stay tonight during the rain?_"_ the woman asked me. She woke me up so she could sleep in my house? Oh hell no…_

"_I don't think so,_"_ I moved back to close the door on her. I just wanted to go back to sleep._

"_Please sir, just for a little while? Just until the rain stops?_"_ she pleaded, clasping her hands together in front of her. How pathetic…_

"_No, I don't have any more room,_"_ I slammed the door shut this time. I barely turned to head back upstairs when she started knocking again._

_Thoroughly irritated now, I threw the door open so it bounced off the wall. _"_Wha-_" _the words died in my throat as I gazed at the now beautiful woman. She had long wavy strawberry blonde hair, a heart shaped face with ice blue eyes. She wore a beautiful light blue gown on her thin frame, which enhanced her eyes. _

_What the hell? I looked around the woman for the beggar. Where did she go? Surely this isn't her?_

"_You, Prince Edward, have shown me that you know no kindness,_"_ her face was carefully blank of emotion. Who was this woman? _"_You could not even offer me shelter from the rain. For that you shall learn a lesson in kindness._"

_I started backing away from her, slightly afraid now. What did she want from me? This was the beggar woman?_

_She took a step towards me, her hands raised in front of her. A beam of dark red light shot out from her fingertips and struck me in the chest, right were my heart is. _"_I'm turning you into a creature. A creature that will have to learn to love someone. You must also earn her love in return in order for the spell to be broken. If you should fail to do so by midnight of your twenty-fourth birthday, you will remain this creature for the rest of your lonesome existence. Which will be a very long time. It will give you time to think about what you have done._"

_Looking down, I brought my hand up to my heart, feeling the area there for anything out of the ordinary. But nothing was._

"_Your transformation will start soon. You will re-awaken in three days,_" _she added with a smirk. _

_I could feel a burning sensation beginning in my chest, in my heart. My eyes widened, panicked. "What's happening to me? Who are you?_"_ I demanded._

"_Tanya. Tanya Denali,_" _with that she disappeared in the blink of an eye. I only stayed conscious long enough to feel the burning pain spreading to my limbs with each beat of my heart._

_I remember waking up at one point during my transformation, though I'm not sure for how long I had been burning. The pain was excruciating. I wondered if I'd even survive. What would I look like when this was over? What did she turn me into? The fire scorching my veins seemed to never end. I had lost track of time._

_When I had finally awoken, the pain in my throat dominated my thoughts. I got up and walked to the kitchen, realizing that I was moving very fast. How was that possible? I grabbed a glass out of the cabinet, immediately shattering it with my firm grasp. I jumped back in shock. What happened? Did I squeeze it too tight?_

_I grabbed another one, careful this time to not grip it as tight, and filled it with water. _

_The cool liquid did nothing to quench my dry throat. At that moment, a scent so delicious wafted over to me, causing me to sniff at the air. I could hear a tantalizing rhythm, wet and pulsing, drawing nearer to me._

_Acting on instinct, I opened the kitchen window and dove out, landing in a crouched position. The smell was stronger out here with the wind carrying it to me. Something filled my mouth, I assumed was saliva, as I lunged at the sweet scent. _

A scent equally as appetizing filled my senses then, drawing my thoughts away from my very first human kill.

I watched as the man turned the corner of a building and decided to make my move. I glanced around not seeing anyone watching me out of their windows, or even anywhere on the street, and ran at vampire speed to the corner of the building, avoiding patches of sunlight that would cause my stone skin to sparkle and surely draw attention.

Listening to the man's thoughts, I tried to see if he was suspicious of someone following him, but he was none the wiser. Still thinking of what he had left to do for the day.

As the wind shifted, yet again, a new scent washed over me. It was so floral and sweet, I would have thought it another vampire had I not heard its heartbeat join my preys. Its thoughts were strangely blank.

I peeked around the corner of the building and froze in my leaned over position. All thoughts of hunting immediately fled from my mind as I gazed upon this fine human specimen.

She was walking towards me on the sidewalk, standing at about five foot four. From what I could see of her with her nose stuck in a book, she had beautiful long straight dark chocolate hair that was pulled back in a loose ponytail at the base of her neck and skin so pale she could almost pass for a vampire. She wore a simple midnight blue sleeveless dress that went to her knees and swooped low enough to show a hint of cleavage. It complimented her skin perfectly.

I stood there transfixed, watching her walk slowly towards me, twirling a fallen strand of hair absentmindedly. I had never felt this way before. No one had _ever_ stopped me mid-hunt. I felt something in my chest clench, wanting me to move towards her.

I recalled Tanya's words again as I stared at her. Could it be possible? I narrowed my eyes at the girl. She was more beautiful than any woman I had seen since I became this…thing. Is she the one I'm supposed to fall in love with? I could certainly see it happening. Provided she was able to look past my flaws…

I stared at her harder as she drew nearer to my location, trying my hardest to ignore the pull to her and get inside her mind.

_How is it that I can't hear anything coming from her?_ _The one mind I actually _want_ to read and I can't read it, _I thought with exasperation. I glanced around the area quickly. There was no one else to hear nearby. I focused with all my might, hoping to get a glimpse into what I was sure would be a perfect mind.

As if she could sense my gaze, she glanced up from _Wuthering Heights_, the book she was reading, directly into my red eyes, startling me. Her eyes were gorgeous, the same deep chocolate brown that her hair is. I wanted to be closer, stare deeper, fall into her endlessly until I was drowning a sea of her warmth.

Her eyes widened with shock as she lowered the book further, taking in my tense posture that was now half around the side of the building. _When had I done that?_

She blew out a breath but kept walking towards me, causing my unnecessary breathing to pick up. _What is she doing?_ I held my breath as she inched closer to me, hoping that her scent wouldn't draw me in more than it already had.

She was within a foot of me now, staring deeply into my eyes. I watched her, mesmerized by her beautiful eyes, amazed that she hadn't run away yet, either by my crazed red eyes or my vampire aura, which usually frightens people away.

Her eyes were really the window to her soul. They were very expressive, showing what her face didn't. Longing. Could she possibly want to be near me the same way I wanted to be near her? Was she feeling this pull as well? I wanted to be as close to her as possible. Perhaps that would ease this odd, intense sensation.

I brought my hand up towards her face, slow so I wouldn't startle her, and gently cupped her soft cheek. Her skin was pleasantly warm against my cold skin.

I watched with fascination as her eyes fluttered shut and a blush began to creep up, coloring every inch of her lovely face. The skin underneath my hand was, if anything, twice as hot as before.

Witnessing this had caused a reaction in me I had not anticipated. Instead of venom filling my mouth, making me desire her blood, a stirring sensation began in my lower abdomen, causing me to desire her body. I _wanted_ her.

I began to lean towards her, my eyes closing, hoping to kiss her beautiful, plump lips and at least lessen the pulling urge I felt to be with her.

Caught up in the moment, I didn't hear the approaching thoughts or footsteps until he was about fifty feet away. I growled low and dropped my hand, my eyes snapped up to see a tall, muscular, russet colored skin man with long dark hair walking towards us.

His eyes locked on mine, a scowl making its way onto his face as he drew nearer. His scent washed over me then, causing me to wrinkle my nose in disgust. It was a woodsy, husky scent that reeked of wet dog. How does a human get that scent? _Ugh…_

"Bella!" he called out suddenly. The girl in front of me opened her eyes, glanced up sadly into mine before turning towards the man. _Bella…a beautiful name for a beautiful woman…_

_She was taken._ I froze again, this time with dread. She was taken. How could I have ever expected her to love me? It was foolish of me to assume she was available for me and try to kiss her. She was mine to kiss.

He looked down at her, grinning madly. Seeing that, I decided to take my leave. I glanced down at the angel that now held my heart. Would I ever see her again? I wanted to but I wasn't sure if I should.

I made sure the man wasn't looking at me and took off at vampire speed, back around the corner and scaling up the wall of the building. I began to leap across the roof tops, feeling my dead heart crack with every mile I put between us.

It has been two months since that day. I stayed away from her for her own protection. It would be less dangerous for her to be around me, much less with me.

Racing home that day gave me a lot to think about. That man who walked up to us was human, just like her. She would be happy with him. They could live a normal, human life together. Grow old. Have children. Perish.

It was everything I couldn't give her. I couldn't believe that I was so drawn to her, almost desperate to kiss her and experience love for the first time. She wouldn't want to be with a monster. She couldn't and I shouldn't have even tried…

The reason I found her in the first place was because I was hunting a human. She just happened to cross paths with me. What kind of monster am I? I was going to kill him. Who would want to be with a murderer?

It was with those thoughts that I condemned myself to isolation. I didn't leave the house for two weeks straight, choosing to devote myself to my piano. It was a talent I picked up when I was a child. My mother scheduled lessons for me, hoping I would stick with it and play for her. I learned to love playing and even began to write my own compositions.

I spent my time in self-isolation trying to write down the notes that kept floating around in my head. When the thirst got to be too much, I ran north to the closest forests near the mountain range. I was driven by my thirst, feeding on the first smell of warm pulsing blood I could find. A grizzly bear.

I was shocked at first. It never occurred to me to try and drink animal blood. Sure the thirst was abated for now, but not as much as it is when I drink human blood. The blood tasted off too, close to the real thing but not the same, yet it soothed the burn in my throat. I was never fully satisfied, but I also was not as thirsty. It gave me more to think about.

Perhaps if I changed my diet to animal blood, I could be worthy of her affections. It instilled hope in me.

I thought about Bella constantly. Always wondering what she was doing. If she was thinking of me as often as I thought of her. The ache in my chest, begging me to go to her, never diminished, creating a torture that I savored, knowing I should not go back to her. It was for her safety.

I fed off of animals consistently for the next six weeks. Never feeding off another human again. Wanting to change myself into someone she could love and be proud of. For her.

I was running back from the woods towards my condo when I heard a scream. I debated with myself about whether I should ignore it or not when I heard _his_ voice.

"Bella, come on! Stop being difficult!" _Bella._ It was the man from that day. _What are the odds,_ I thought bitterly. The tall, tan-skinned human. A snarl immediately erupted from me. _What is he doing to her?_

I felt the pull intensify again – stronger than ever before – drawing me towards my love's presence. She could be in danger. I picked up my speed, needing to get there as quickly as I could to make sure she was alright. I would never recover if something happened to her…

I froze at the scene in front of me. He was holding her by the wrist, trying to pull her towards him, and she was resisting, obviously not wanting to get near him. Neither had noticed my presence.

"Bella! You know you can't resist my charm. Just one date! What's the harm in that?" he asked with a laugh. He had clearly asked her this question multiple times.

"I said _no_, Jacob. Why can't you just leave it at that?" she replied exasperatedly. That was the first time I heard her voice. It was soft, beautiful, melodic…and she had said _his_ name with her enchanting voice. _Jacob_. I felt a growl escape my mouth.

At that, both of their eyes snapped to me and widened at my angry appearance. Jacob was in enough shock to loosen his grip and Bella wriggled her way out of his grasp.

"You!" he exclaimed angrily. He turned to look at Bella, who had now begun to inch her way towards me. "He's the one you've been talking nonstop about? The mysterious one that you felt drawn to? _Him_?"

I quickly looked to Bella, who was now within reach of me, seeing her blush even deeper than she had the day I first saw her. _She'd been talking about me? She felt the pull too? I wonder why she would talk about me with him. Are they even an item? Could I interpreted her body language right and she was interested in me? I'd have to ask her. _

"Shut up, Jake!" she shrieked at him before turning to me, "take me away from him, please," she whispered to me, so low that Jacob wouldn't be able to hear.

I glanced at her to be sure, the clenching sensation in my chest stronger than ever now that she was within touching distance. _She doesn't even know me…but I really want to take her away…_Her eyes darted back over to Jacob, before shooting up to mine, pleading with me. I needed to touch her, kiss her, be one with her…

"Bella! What are you doing? Get away from him! He's a killer!" he yelled at her. I never removed my now golden eyes from her, watching as she still pleaded for me to take her away. The information Jacob told her didn't seem to affect her at all. _Perhaps I should take that as a sign…_

"OK," I whispered back to her. We both looked back over at Jacob, who was now angrily stomping his way towards us. I knew he wanted to snatch her back towards him, away from me.

I didn't give him time to make it to us as I grabbed Bella and threw her on my back, taking off as fast as I could. I heard him yelling for us to stop, even as I sped up my pace. I certainly wasn't taking her back to him.

I felt Bella's legs and arms lock around me in a way that would have choked me had I been human, and bury her face in my neck. I have to admit, it felt wonderful having her close to me. The sensation in my chest lessened slightly, but it still didn't feel close enough. I wanted to hold her in my arms, kiss her, be inside her…

I didn't stop until I reached the front of the building. She stayed latched on me as I made my way to my condo. I had bought this condo using the money that I had taken from my parents account. I took enough to where they wouldn't notice it missing, yet it was still enough to pay for everything. I walked in, locking the door and headed towards the living room.

"Are you ok?" I asked her softly, turning my head to glance at her sideways. I hoped I hadn't scared her too much with my running. It felt great to show her something I loved to do. I wanted to share everything with her…

I heard her exhale shakily, her breath warm against my neck. I loosened her arms and legs from around me before spinning her around so she was facing me, my arms holding her to me.

Her eyes were still pinched shut and her mouth was open, breathing in and out raggedly. I brought my hand up and brushed some hair off her forehead, causing her eyes to snap open.

She blinked at me a few times, trying to adjust to her surroundings. "Hi," I breathed, smirking slightly. She smiled at me, whispering back in an awed voice, "Hi."

She was so beautiful. Her big brown eyes looking up at me with such vulnerability, it left me breathless. I leaned forward slightly. Every fiber of my being wanted to kiss her… my chest literally ached with my need to do some form of physical act with her.

Her eyes fluttered shut, causing me to exhale. She breathed me in, smiling slightly through parted lips. That was all I needed to proceed.

My hand slipped to the back of her neck, lifting her up to meet my lips. I pressed lightly, a small part of my brain still hesitant that we should be doing this, but when she sighed softly, I gave in and applied more pressure, completing our kiss.

It was my first kiss of this existence and I felt completely blissful. It was better than when I was human because her lips felt softer, they tasted sweeter, they molded to mine... I could feel her lashes brushing against my face lightly, her warm nose pressing into my cheek. It was pure heaven.

I was sure I was in love now. She was so perfect in every way and we haven't even had a real conversation yet.

I knew she had to breathe, so I pulled away, only to begin trailing kisses down her neck. Seeing the warm blood pulsing through her veins distracted me slightly, but I knew I could never hurt her. I would never want to. I would never forgive myself…I pushed those thoughts away.

Her hands reached up from my shoulders to tangle in my hair, pressing my face deeper into her throat, moaning softly.

Her noises spurred me on as I placed fiercer kisses there, being careful not to be too rough with her. I wanted to claim her as mine, make her mine forever. I wanted this curse lifted off of me so that we could be together in the human way. Loving each other completely for the rest of our lives.

I kissed her neck tenderly then before trailing back up to her luscious lips. We kissed lightly for a bit before I pulled back to look into her face. I nearly chuckled at her peaceful appearance.

Her chocolate eyes opened to look into my golden ones, smiled at me, "Thank you," she said softly.

I was puzzled. _Is she thanking me for taking her away or for kissing her?_ "What for?"

She smiled up at me shyly, "For taking me away from Jacob and…" she looked down for a second, blushing, before meeting my eyes again, "for my first kiss."

I was shocked, to say the least. _I_ was her first kiss. How was this possible? She was beautiful, young, and she has never kissed anyone before?

I'm sure my face showed my disbelief so I quickly masked it and placed another soft kiss on her lips before setting her on the ground.

I held her hand as I led her to sit down on the couch. I had bought it to keep up human appearances. Now, I'm glad I did.

"Your welcome. Umm…my name is Edward, by the way," I told her, rolling my eyes internally. _I should have done that sooner before I practically kidnapped her_, "Edward…Masen…" I couldn't say Edward Cullen because that was my human name, and people would surely talk, or at least notice the similarities.

"I'm Bella. Bella Swan," she said, smiling shyly up at me. "That was Jacob Black that you saved me from. He's been pursuing me for years," she added with an eye roll and a grimace.

I laughed but internally I was seething. _What a jackass…_ "Do you live near here?"

At this she blushed fiercely and ducked her head down. I wondered why that question would elicit such a response. "What?"

"Well…" she began, still not looking at me. Her blush deepened and I fought the urge to groan. _I wish I knew what was going on in her head_. "Umm…I'm actually about to umm…lose my apartment," she looked up at me then. My mouth dropped open. _She's going to be homeless?_ _I can't let that happen…_"I've umm…had some problems keep up with my rent…and well…yeah…" she trailed off.

I snapped my mouth shut. "Stay here…with me," I said impulsively. _What?_

This time her mouth dropped open. "_What?_" she asked clearly shocked. I was shocked myself. _What did I just say?_ I knew I wanted to be with her and never let her go now, but live with her? _Could I do that?_

"Umm…stay with me?" I said again, phrasing it like a question this time. I wanted her with me at all times. It would tear me apart to be away from her...My decision was made.

"A-are you sure?" she asked, "I mean, I don't really know you but – I feel like I have this connection with you…umm…you know?" she looked up at me uncertainly. _Of course I knew…_

"I know, me too," I hurried to explain. I didn't want her to think she was the only one who felt this way. "I felt this urge to be with you that first day I saw you but I thought you were with _Jacob_," I practically spat his name, "and you don't know how hard it was for me to leave you, thinking you were with him and wouldn't want me. I wan-"

"Wait a minute!" she cut me off, anger appearing on her face. "You stayed away…from me…because you assumed I was with Jacob and wouldn't want you?" she started out slowly and ended loudly, anger in her voice. I cringed. _Oh shit…_"Are you freaking kidding me?!"

I leaned back, shocked that she was actually getting angry at me for trying to protect her.

"I have been through the hardest two months I can remember! You just disappeared, no words even spoken. You d-didn't even give us a c-chance…" she trailed off, tears in her eyes. She looked away, angrily swiping at them.

"I-I'm sorry. I just did what I thought was best. I thought if you knew what I was – what I've done – you wouldn't want to see me much less be with me…" I told her sadly. I didn't want her to be upset with me. It caused the pain in my chest to expand, creating a deep black chasm.

She looked back at me then, wetness still on her cheeks, and pulled me close to her. I wrapped my arms around her, hugging her to me and resting my cheek on her shoulder. _She's so warm._

I felt her hot breath on my neck, moving her mouth closer to my ear. Her lips brushed my ear lobe as she whispered, "I don't care what you've done or what you are. We can still be together."

Her words would have brought tears to my eyes if I had still been human. _How can she say those things without even know what they are? _I squeezed my eyes shut, "Are you sure? They're pretty terrible…" I breathed out shakily. _Give her a way out before it's too late…_

She shook her head, pressing her warm cheek to my cold one and brought up a hand to stroke through my hair. I exhaled softly against her neck, causing her to shiver slightly. It made me realize that my cold body was probably making her cold.

I started to move back, to give her some room to warm up, but she wouldn't let me go. "I'll stay here," I heard her say, causing my eyes to snap open. _Had I heard her correctly?_ _She actually wants to stay with me?_ My dead heart leapt to life with hope.

I needed to tell her. She needed to know what she was getting involved with. I'm sure my heart would have been racing if it could. Squeezing my eyes shut and taking a deep breath, I buried my face in her neck and blurted it out before I could lose my nerve, "I'm a vampire and I've killed people."

I felt her stiffen at my words, her breathing hitched, but she squeezed me tighter. "I don't care," she repeated firmly after a few seconds. _What? _Surely I heard _that_ wrong.

Incredulous, I pulled her back to look into her eyes, needing visual confirmation. Golden eyes met dark brown ones. "I have _killed_ people, Bella. Hundreds over the course of two and half years," I said quietly. _She needs to know_, I kept telling myself. "I-I'm trying to change. I've actually started hunting animals since I first saw you two months ago. I-I wa-wanted," I blew out a shaky breath, extremely nervous now. "I wanted to change for you. To be someone you could be proud of, instead of ashamed."

Her eyes softened at that. "I could never be ashamed of you," she sighed and leaned up to place a light kiss on my lips. She was so sweet. I brought my hand up to cup her cheek, tracing her cheekbone with my thumb. She was so perfect.

She pulled back, "I did notice something different about you but I couldn't tell right away," her hand reached up to stroke under my eye. "They're so beautiful."

"So are you," I told her before I leaned down to capture her lips again. I would never get tired of kissing her…

Getting used to living with a human again took a while. We went grocery shopping – which was a unique experience for me – bought some movies to watch on my big screen TV, and not to mention, she slept. A lot.

Once she found out I didn't need to sleep, she tried to avoid falling asleep. It was the cutest thing to watch her struggling to stay up so I wouldn't be lonely at night. But I knew she needed it so I always hummed to her at night, knowing it calmed and relaxed her enough for her to drift off.

Bella turned her apartment key in, paying the early cancellation fee while I covered the missing rent. She officially moved into my condo, taking at least a week to bring everything over and then arrange it around just so. We sold most of her furniture, giving her the money to try pay _me _for rent.

I thought the idea was ludicrous but she insisted that she pay for something. I, in turn, used that money to take her out on dates to dinner, only to the best restaurants. Since she was the only one that ate, it was a win-win situation for me.

It was wonderful getting to know her. She truly was a beautiful person inside and out. I learned that her favorite color changes daily, but is usually topaz because, as she told me, it is the color of my eyes. She likes cheese ravioli, classical music, cooking anything, reading classical books, wearing comfort clothes, and the sound of my voice. She doesn't like dancing, being the center of attention, her near disability of extreme clumsiness, dressing up in fancy clothes, or driving fast, which I tend to do a lot.

She also learned about things that I liked: playing the piano, the color brown – the color of her beautiful hair and eyes – as well as running.

We've been living together for a month now and I have loved every minute of it.

I had just reached the floor to my condo, returning from picking up milk for Bella to eat her cake with at the local grocery store, when I heard worried thoughts down the hallway.

"_I had heard some yelling but I never thought they were actually fighting. Look at that mess!"_

"_That poor girl, he must have knocked her around a bit. Maybe I should call someone?" _an image of that Jacob flashed across his mind. _No… Bella!_

I dropped the milk, running at a human pace towards my condo, in case anyone was looking. I stood in front of my kicked in door, staring in shock at the disarray my apartment was in. Lamps smashed on the floor, the couch over turned, the smell of burned food and…blood! Panic began to grip me. It smelled just like Bella's scent. Floral and sweet.

I ran over and quickly shut the stove off, staring back at the disaster, gripping my hair tightly. I heard a crunching noise, looking down I noticed there was broken glass all over the kitchen floor, Bella's blood covering a quarter of the glass. _What had happened?_ I needed to get her back. She was everything to me…

My knees gave out then, causing me to crouch down to the ground, grabbing my hair in both hands roughly. I squeezed my eyes shut tightly. I knew I was being paranoid but I had a reason to be. How had he known where Bella was? That she lived here. I knew I had to focus on finding her, worrying about the details of him finding her later, but the panicked thoughts kept racing through my head.

My eyes flashed open and immediately darted around the apartment, trying to figure out what happened. There was a struggle, obviously, but how did he know where I live? Had he been following us, or Bella? Was he following her around the town when I wasn't there to protect her?

How did she get so injured? Did he do that too her on purpose or did it happen by accident? Was she ok now? I'm sure she was scared. I needed to find her. Now. The pull to be near her had reached an unbearable level now that I knew she wasn't close by.

I knew Bella was gone, and injured by the amount of blood that was on the floor. I could smell a different scent around the room as well, a musky, woodsy scent. I knew it was Jacob's. I remember it from our brief encounter before.

I knew I would need to track them and soon. I followed the scent out into the hallway, past a few of my nosy neighbors that tried to nonchalantly walk by and see the mess, and into the elevators. I followed the trail until it disappeared into the condo's parking lot.

He obviously took her in a car, leaving me almost no way to track them. I needed to think about what I was going to do. I thought of perhaps going back to the spot we had first met, seeing if I could pick up some thoughts from there. It was the only thing I could do for now.

I ran at vampire speed to the spot where we first saw each other, hoping to pick up someone's stray thoughts that had seen them, or to at least try to pick up their scent from the location.

I felt numb while I ran, not enjoying it like I usually do. Bella was missing. _My_ Bella. Taken. I couldn't believe it… Why would he take her now? She clearly wasn't his, nor did she ever try to encourage him. Why did he think she would suddenly change her mind?

I tried to follow the pulling sensation that I had grown accustomed to feeling the last few months, but it was difficult to follow as I couldn't just crash through buildings. I listened to the thoughts around me as I neared my location, hoping for a clue as to where to look.

"_Should I wear the white dress or the red one?"_

"_I want to tell him but I know he's going to be so mad…"_

"_Man, did you see that truck! It was going so fast!" _

Thoughts continued to run through my head but that last one slowed me down. I focused on his six year old mind, trying to view what the truck had looked like and which direction it was going.

Once I saw the black Ford pick-up, I used my vampire eyesight to look closer into the windows. Seeing long black hair and tan skin gave me all I needed to know. _It was him. _The truck had driven past the building that the child was in, heading northbound, out of town. I hoped he wasn't taking her out of town for the reasons that popped into my head…to kill her…

I turned left and ran down the road in the direction I had seen the truck go. I wanted to catch up with the truck when it stopped, hoping to take Bella away from him. It was another minute before I heard the roaring of a truck engine, a large truck from the sound of it. No doubt the Ford pick-up I saw in the boys' mind.

"_Stupid bitch, thinking she could stay away from me. Why would she choose _him_? He's nothing special. Just some pretty boy…"_ I heard his vile thoughts invade my mind, making me angrier than I had ever been. I could see that he had to hit her over the head during the struggle to keep her quiet, knocking her unconscious. I was scared that he had hurt her too bad. _Did she need medical attention?_

I ran alongside the passenger side, knowing that's the side Bella would be on, and using the darkness to my advantage to stay out of Jacob's sight. I peered into the window, seeing her unconscious.

It made me, if anything, more terrified than I was before. Seeing her unconscious in his mind was not like seeing it firsthand. She was deathly pale, her body leaning limply against the window. She had a large black purplish bruise on her right temple where he had hit her. I would have thought she was dead if I hadn't heard her heartbeat bounding in my ears. The most beautiful sound in the world.

I was going to kill him, no matter what Bella said. He was a threat to her…to us…to me. He couldn't be allowed to live. He would be a constant loom over us once I turned back human, which I was growing more confident would happen as the days went by. It was best to do something about him while I was still a vampire, when I could injure him more effectively.

I saw the glint of a knife reflect off the moonlight on the seat beside her. I read his mind to try and see what he had planned with the knife, but he was not thinking about it. I knew that he didn't want to harm_ her_; he just wanted me out of the picture so he could have her all to his self.

I let the truck get a little ahead of me, keeping an eye at all times on Bella, seeing if she would wake up. I hoped she wouldn't. I didn't want to kill him if she was awake. I didn't want her to see that…

I couldn't help but feel guilty at the situation we were in. If I wouldn't have left, she never would have been kidnapped. I needed to get her back. To feel her in my arms. To kiss her soft lips. I never got to tell her that I loved her. I hoped that she knew that… I made a promise to myself that I would tell her as soon as we were out of this mess.

I ran, following the truck for another twenty minutes before it finally started to slow down, Bella unconscious the entire time. I lingered farther behind than I wanted to, hoping he would see or hear me. The ache in my chest was growing more painful the longer I was away from her.

I watched from nearby trees as he pulled off on a dirt road, parked the truck and got out, walking about ten feet away. "I know you're there, vampire," He announced out loud. My eyes widened and my mouth dropped open, shocked. _How did he know I'm a vampire?_ "You can come out now."

I ran fast so I was about twenty feet behind him before he even turned around. He looked shocked for a second before he covered it. His scent was making its way towards me, filthy, grungy smell, causing me to wrinkle my nose. He smelled disgusting. "I've been waiting for the perfect opportunity. You see, I've known what you are from the beginning. Your sickly sweet smell gave you away," I stared at him. "Completely disgusting," he scowled at me.

"What are you?" I asked, curious now. _How could he smell my scent and hear me following them?_

"I should just kill you now. It's what you deserve for taking Bella away from me," He ignored my question, glaring at me and starting to visibly shake, taking a step towards me. _Was he kidding me?_

"Excuse me?" I asked incredulously. My anger was intensifying, "You never had her to begin with, you sick fuck. You've been stalking her for years, desperate for attention she would never give you. How does that classify her as yours?" He was really pissing me off. _How dare he say that about Bella!_

His trembling grew worse as he spat angrily, "She's more mine than yours, vampire. At least I'm more human. You could never be human for her." He taunted. I smirked internally, inching my way towards the passenger door of the truck. _If only you knew…_

"We shall see, _Jacob_. I'll be taking Bella away from you for good, you'll never find us," with that I made a dash for the passenger side door. I didn't get five feet before I heard something tearing and felt something sharp pierce my back.

Trying not to cry out, I reached behind me and grabbed whatever was on me and threw it over me about fifty feet. When it landed on its four legs, crouching low and growling loudly at me, I stared at it in shock, yet again. It was a large, russet-colored wolf. _He's a werewolf? Holy fuck…_

I was stunned, frozen stiff, staring at the retched creature. That is until he lunged for me again. I was ready this time. I listened to his thoughts, anticipating his attacks, only to dodge them once he jumped for me. We kept dancing around each other – him lunging, me dodging and pushing him away – I could tell he was getting frustrated, trying to figure out how I was doing so well against him.

I didn't tell him I could read minds, giving away my best advantage over him. After a while of him beginning to tire out, did he start to act on impulse instead of planning ahead. I was barely able to dodge his latest attacks. It was hard to read his mind and act in a split second. I had never had to fight before.

He jumped for me again, aiming for my throat, while I grabbed a hold of his arm, trying to hold him off. I didn't snatch it back to me in time before I felt an excruciating pain in my left shoulder. I gasped in pain and growled loudly at him, reaching over with my other hand to press on it, only to find my left arm gone.

I snapped my eyes down to the ground, trying my best to ignore the pain, and watched as he tossed my arm aside carelessly. _Damn it._ While he was distracted with my arm, I reached out with my other hand, slamming his head against the back of the truck.

The truck rocked slightly, causing me to glance over at Bella's still unconscious form. _He must have hit her really hard…_ The thought caused me to see red. He had hurt _my_ Bella.

I lunged for him, grabbing his bicep and pulling on it hard until I heard the shoulder pop. He howled in pain, but I was already punching his abdomen. It took two hard blows to my torso to push me off of him. I looked down to see claw scratches on my chest and ribs.

Out of my peripheral sight, I saw him get up and jump towards me again. He was going for the kill shot. I leapt up over him, twisting in midair, landing on his solid back. I grabbed the fur of the right side of his head with my only hand and shoved it left sharply, immediately breaking his neck and killing him.

His body went limp underneath me, causing me to stagger slightly in order to stay up right. I looked down at his furry form with disgust. _Stupid mongrel._

I ran over and grabbed my arm, holding it in place at my left shoulder so it could reattach nicely. I had just felt my shoulder and the other wounds on my torso finish mending, when I felt two arms sneak around my waist and something warm press up against my back, a heart thudding into my chest. I knew it was Bella before I looked.

Her sweet, floral scent floated around me and I'd recognize her heartbeat anywhere. I spun around in her arms, pulling her to me tightly, just wanting to feel her in my arms now.

She was shaking in my grasp, causing me to look down at the top of her head. Her face was pressed into my chest, eyes screwed shut, taking shuddering gasping breaths.

I reached down and lifted her chin up so I could look into her eyes. They were red, wet, and beautifully brown. I sighed and leaned down to press a soft kiss on her forehead.

She gasped, leaping up to wrap her legs around my waist, and began to press kisses everywhere. My nose, my eyes, my forehead, my ears, my neck, my mouth… Her hands running over my shoulders and tangling in my hair, "Are you hurt anywhere? Did he get you?" She asked, continuing to rain kisses on me as I held her to me firmly, never wanting to let her go again.

I laughed with relief, pleased with her reaction and glad that she wasn't scared of me for killing someone she knew. "No. He did take my arm off," I told her. She immediately looked panicked and leaned back to look at my arms. She looked confused since both arms were there, and began to rub my shoulders softly, as if she would hurt them. "But I fixed it," I told her with a smile.

I sighed sadly when she didn't immediately smile. I hope we could work past everything and just be ok. I wanted us to have a happy life together. She deserved that. And I was beginning to see that I deserved that too. She made me feel more like a man everyday and I could see the changes in myself from years ago, when I had turned down shelter for Tanya, to now. All because of the beautiful woman I was holding in my arms.

I leaned forward, pressing my forehead to hers, relishing in the warmth of her skin. I knew I would have to tell her about my past and why I was a vampire. But it could wait till after my change.

"I love you, Bella," I breathed softly, staring deep into her loving eyes, fulfilling my promise to myself to tell her. I've wanted to tell her for so long. Wanting to wait until it was the perfect moment. Make it romantic and memorable. Not standing near the corpse of a man I had just killed, that had stalked and pursued her relentlessly.

She blinked rapidly, trying not to let the tears that were filling her eyes, fall, "I love you too, Edward," she whispered before pressing her lips fully to mine.

As soon as I felt her soft lips touch mine, I began to feel a tingling sensation in my stomach. I continued to kiss her, feeling the sensation intensify and spread. I knew what was happening and pulled back from her to look in her eyes, wanting to cherish this moment.

She was so beautiful, smiling at me, eyes shining with happiness, looking at me with complete adoration.

I could feel my entire body tingling now, life flowing back into my veins. We kept our eyes locked on each other as we kissed again, more tenderly than before.

I could feel myself warming up, and knew she felt it too when she gripped my shoulders tighter, her eyes going wide.

My chest started to thud, slowly at first but sped up to match her rhythm. She pulled back to look down at my chest in fascination, feeling the thudding of my now beating heart against her chest. The tingling feeling continued to grow with each beat of my heart, my organs functioning once again.

She looked back up into my eyes then and gasped. I smiled at her, knowing my eyes were changing from buttery gold to the emerald green that they used to be when I was human.

Her hand reached up to trace the skin under my eye. It was getting slightly harder to hold her up now that my strength was diminishing, but I kept a firm hold on her, not letting her fall.

Once I felt the tingling ebbing away, I closed my eyes and leaned forward to press my lips to hers firmly, knowing I wasn't going to hurt her ever again. I felt her eyes flutter shut as we kissed, her arms wrapping around my neck, pressing our mouths together.

I reached a hand down to grip her thigh and placed the other on her upper back, holding her more securely to me, and deepened the kiss for the first time.

I reached with my tongue, licking her lower lip. She moaned, opening her mouth to allow my entrance. I slowly massaged her tongue with mine, causing her moan again, louder this time.

I felt happier than I had ever been. I was with the woman I love and we were together. We were both human and could live our mortal lives together. I knew I was going to marry her someday. I was sad that I would never see my parents again, but as long as I had Bella with me, I felt like I could do anything.

Now I could be everything she wanted. I could give her the life that I wanted her to have. A lavish wedding where she would be the blushing bride and I'd be the grinning groom. I could be the best husband she would ever have. We would have little bronze haired brown eyed children with her beautiful smile and my piano playing ability. We would get to see them grow up and go to college and have lives of their own.

Thinking about that made me realize how much I had changed in the past three years. I was once a man, who thought only of himself and how to gain the most out of life, no matter how many people it hurt. Now, I had to think of Bella. I willingly will share my life with her, my thoughts, and my emotions. I would never hurt her or try to hurt anyone else again. I had definitely changed the monster within me.

*****

**A/N:** This is my first story ever posted. I hope you all enjoyed it! If you like it enough to vote for it in the contest, you can do so at http://www(DOT)fanfiction(DOT)net/u/2009160/ beginning August 22, 2009 at noon PST. Please let me know what you think of it in a review, whether it be good or bad thoughts. Constructive criticism is much appreciated to help me learn from my mistakes. Thank you! - CB86


End file.
